New Years Resolution.. update this blog.

Just re-read my last blog post and cant believe how long ago it was...

So he was restared.. went well.. and then our problems came back ten fold. He got into bucking again and I was continually thrown to the ground then he started rearing again.. he reared on the road in front of a car and then reared as I was falling off (after a bucking fit) and landed on my leg.

Havent ridden since then. That was in November.. and since then general has been advertised for loan, for sale, and I have gradually lost all confidence and joy in horsemanship. Its been a horrible few months.

Last week, when I was completely unmotivated and had given up completely, a friend told me a parelli instructor was coming over our way to view a horse to buy. I took my chance and booked a lesson.. our last chance!! You know what they say, when the student is ready the teacher will appear.

All I can say is wow. I learnt SO much. I wont go into detail but she told me so much about general I didnt know.. how sensitive he is.. how i am screaming at him in my phases without knowing it (his phase 1 is a 'normal' horse's phase -4!).. and how easily offended he gets. A lot of the problems we have had is because I have unknowingly offended him, by not rewarding him fast enough or causing him to feel stupid by not pushing him to try new and exciting things. I learnt how to be a better leader and how to up my confidence, and also that General is nowhere near as extreme as some horses and wont be that hard to fix if I follow her advice. So I was really happy :)

So he's bought himself another try. Since the lesson we've been having better results, he's been a lot more connected to me and interested in what I have to say. He is still exhuberant but now I know how to channel it and not blow him up. I hope I can ride him in the next few months. I have changed his saddle to a much wider one as well and he hasnt bucked/reared once wering it on the ground.. so I hope that will also make a positive difference riding.

So to keep me motivated I'm going to be setting daily savvy challenges to complete. They may be simple or difficult.. quick or time taking.. but I hope to complete them everyday and report how it went on this blog (if i stick to my new years resolution!!!). I'm also posting the challenges on facebook for other people to try if they want to join in :)

So savvy task number 1 (for tomorrow): Can you use the porcupine game to guide your horse forwards and backwards over a pole?

savvy smiles! x